England white-ball captain Harry Brook has urged his players to learn from senior batter Joe Root's experience as they aim to complete a one-day international series victory against top-ranked India.
Root scored an unbeaten 99 in England’s win in Cardiff on Thursday, helping the team level the three-match series after his unbeaten 76 in the first ODI defeat.
England’s victory in Cardiff ended a difficult run of 16 defeats in their previous 20 ODIs.
The poor record has raised concerns about the team’s ability to compete at next year’s 50-over World Cup in southern Africa, with England known for their aggressive batting approach.
The 35-year-old Root has scored 7,752 runs in 191 ODIs, including 20 centuries. He said he understood the challenges faced by younger England players due to changes in the domestic cricket schedule, which have reduced their experience of 50-over cricket.
Brook, Root’s Yorkshire team-mate, said even the greatest players continue to look for improvement.
“You are always learning,” Brook told reporters at Lord’s.
“He has played nearly 200 ODIs and is still trying to learn and improve as a player. He is England’s greatest-ever batter.”
Asked if England had become too dependent on Root, Brook said the experienced batter had been an important part of the team for many years.
“We have probably depended on him a little in recent ODI and Test cricket. Hopefully, the players can learn from what he does and understand how he makes batting look simple by rotating the strike.”
Brook added that bringing some of Root’s qualities into the team’s batting could help England reach stronger positions.
England are also looking for a new Test coach after Brendon McCullum left the role following a 2-1 series defeat against New Zealand. McCullum remains in charge of England’s white-ball teams.
The defeat meant England had lost seven of their last nine Test matches.
Brook said the new Test coach would decide the team’s future direction, adding that England wanted to put themselves in stronger positions and become more consistent in the five-day format.
